1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backdoor apparatus for a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
For instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-2002-370626 (corresponding to Japanese Patent JP-B2-3838056) discloses a backdoor apparatus of a vehicle, such as a van, a station wagon, a hatchback car. In the disclosed backdoor apparatus, a top portion of a backdoor panel has a recess, which is recessed toward an interior side of the vehicle, and a rear wiper motor is installed in this recess from outside of the vehicle. After the installation of the motor into the recess, an outer panel (a rear spoiler) is installed to the backdoor panel.
With the above construction, the motor can be installed from the outside of the vehicle rather than from the inside of the vehicle, so that the installation operation is eased. Furthermore, it is not required to form an installation through hole in a backdoor outer plate of the backdoor panel to install the motor from the inside of the vehicle. Thus, the rigidity of the backdoor panel can be easily maintained.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication JP-U-H07-39734 discloses a vehicle roof spoiler, to which a rear window wiper system is installed. A wiper lift hook is provided in the roof spoiler to guide and receive a wiper arm of the wiper system in an interior of the roof spoiler.
With the above construction, the wiper arm and a wiper blade are hidden in the roof spoiler when the wiper is not in use. Thus, an appearance is improved. Furthermore, the wiper arm and the wiper blade are protected by the spoiler from, for example, sand, dust and harmful ultraviolet rays. Also, the wiper blade, which is lifted away from a surface of a rear window glass, is cleaned by an air flow, which is guided by the spoiler. In addition, in the assembling operation for installing the roof spoiler to the vehicle body, the rear window wiper system is simultaneously installed. Thus, the number of assembling steps and the number of components can be reduced, and thereby the manufacturing costs can be reduced.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-2005-350005 discloses a rear spoiler apparatus, which includes a spoiler main body and a wiper mechanism for wiping a rear window glass. The spoiler main body includes a main body, which projects from a vehicle body surface and forms a receiving space therein. The main body forms an opening. A closer is provided to open and close the opening. The wiper mechanism is provided to the receiving space and can wipe the rear window glass through the opening when the closer is opened.
However, the above-described apparatuses have the following disadvantages. Specifically, in the backdoor apparatus of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-2002-370626, a pivot shaft of the motor projects through the rear spoiler. Thus, a wiper arm and a wiper blade are installable to the pivot shaft only after the installation of the motor and the rear spoiler to the backdoor panel. Also, the components, which need to be installed to the vehicle body, include the motor, the outer panel for covering the motor, the wiper arm and the wiper blade. Thus, the wiper mechanism cannot be handled as an integrated unit, and thereby the assembly still requires an additional installation time.
Also, in the backdoor apparatus recited in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-2002-370626, the wiper arm and the wiper blade, which are installed to the pivot shaft, can be easily viewed from the rear side of the vehicle in the wiper non-operational state. This construction deteriorates the appearance.
Furthermore, the opening of the roof spoiler of Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication JP-U-H07-39734 has a relatively large size, thereby deteriorating the appearance. In addition, at the time of washing the vehicle with the high pressure washer fluid, the motor itself and the output shaft of the motor may possibly get the washer fluid, thereby possibly damaging electrical components of the motor.
The rear spoiler apparatus of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-2005-350005 addresses the above disadvantage of Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication JP-U-H07-39734. However, in the rear spoiler apparatus of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-2005-350005, the closer, which opens and closes the opening, is provided, so that the costs are disadvantageously increased.